"Start understanding the power of your own body and voice."

In 2015, hate crimes against Muslims spiked, reaching levels not seen since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. As the Presidential campaign ramped up in 2016, some reported anti-Muslim sentiment continued to grow, fueled by Trump's promised Muslim ban that he recently follow through with. And in the days following Trump's election, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported there was a surge in hate crimes in the U.S., with many specifically invoking Trump's name as their reason for hateful rhetoric and attacks. That's why two girls teamed up with the Muslim self-empowerment group WISE to create a toolkit of self-defense videos.

The videos make up the Self-Defense Starter Kit, a project Robie Flores and Alison Withers came up with as a direct response to the increase in hate crimes and attacks, specifically against Muslim women. Because demand for self-defense classes increased alongside the hate crimes, Robie and Alison teamed up with WISE to bring those classes to the people who need them in their own homes.

"We made these videos with women in mind. Street harassment is something we all deal with on a very regular basis that it's become so normalized we don't mention every single time it happens, and this is alarming and a very serious problem, especially for visible minorities," Robie told Teen Vogue. "We genuinely didn't know how to properly face these situations we encounter very often, much less what to do when they escalate and turn violent."

"They're meant to be a resource and a starting point for you to share with your friends, for you to start understanding the power of your own body and voice," Alison said.

The classes, taught by Rana Abdelhamid and Maryam Aziz of WISE, feature everything from verbal de-escalation techniques to how to strike an attacker in their weak points. The kit even includes tips on how to handle someone grabbing your hijab - something Rana told Teen Vogue she personally experience. It's why she started WISE. But not all attacks are physical, which is why Robie said having a variety of methods to deal with an attacker - whether physical or verbal - is key.

"I can't tell you how many harassment situations I've been in where I'm just quiet because I freeze," Robie said. "It's something we have to practice, being used to being loud and hearing our voices yell, and practicing having these reactions in situations where our voice can really help us."

"The voice is an important tool that allows you to signal to an attacker and bystanders that you are alert or in danger. It's also just really empowering to learn to have control over your voice," Rana said. "In stressful times, the body won't do things you're not used to. Our experience doing trainings through WISE shows us that it takes women a long time for them to say 'NO!' even in a practice session. Imagine in a stressful and violent situation. We freeze up! That's why it's important to practice and build our agencies over our bodies and voices. It's unfortunate that this is the extent to which we have to go to protect ourselves, but as we continue to fight the structured violence, we recognize we also need to protect ourselves."

The videos don't just focus on protecting yourself. They also include tips on what to do if you see someone being harassed on the train, and clear up some misconception on what self-defense actually means (did you know you shouldn't actually carry a knife?).

You'll walk away from these videos not only more knowledgeable about how and why you should defend yourself, but a little more badass. That's because knowing your rights and defending them is the ultimate badass move - and defending them without a fight is even better.

"We recognize that self-defense is not the main solution. But it's about building women's capacity to be able to defend oneself as we continue to fight the good fight," Rana said.